Rabid Bunnies
by yoyoente
Summary: A collection of one-shots and plot bunnies set in the Harry Potter-verse.
1. Good Intentions

**A/N:** I've read plenty of fics where Dumbledore does something unspeakable, sometimes in the name of the greater good, sometimes for his own mechanisms; this is one of those 'good intentions, horrible results' fics.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of JK Rowling's characters. I only borrow them for my own sick amusement.

**Good Intentions**

"But I don't understand Headmaster. The Dark Lord came back, more powerful than ever. Who could have defeated him and all those Death Eaters if you did not?" Severus Snape left his normally acerbic tone behind, true curiosity and apprehension in his voice, anyone who had killed that group of people was a force to be reckoned with.

"Why, Harry Potter, of course." Albus Dumbledore smiled jovially. He was thrilled that his half-cocked plan all those years ago worked so well. He had been worried at the start of it, but in the end decided that it was all for the greater good and thus must be done.

A flooding rush of memories came back to Severus - classes, meals, late night excursions - and he could feel his face blank – its default state – as horror overcame him. He turned his head slowly, and suddenly he could see the young man that had been sitting in the chair next to him this entire past hour, yet he had not known was there.

"H-how?" The Potions Master managed to choke out.

The 18 year-old man simply looked at him with dead eyes before turning to look at the headmaster. The glance with anyone else would have appeared deferential; however, this young man simply gave the impression that the question was unworthy of his speaking an answer and therefore the other man must give one.

The Headmaster chuckled, part smug and part proud. "A spell, of course. I knew that no matter where our dear boy Harry was, he would be in danger, because there was always the chance that someone would find out where he was. So, of course I needed to discover a way that no one would find out such information, while allowing him to live as normal a life as possible. What better way to prevent anyone from discovering his location, than to have no one remember that they had even seen him?" Albus chuckled again at his own ingenuity.

Severus made an strangled noise from the back of his throat, too shocked and horrified to articulate his objections.

"It was based off the Fidelius Charm. I had the ingenious idea to harness the widespread memory altering portion of the spell and transfer it from a location to a person. It took me several years to complete, but by the time that our dear Harry was six I had perfected the spell enough that for two weeks everyone forgot about Fawkes' very existence. It was then that I performed it on young Harry here, with me as his Secret Keeper, of course."

The youngest Potion Master in centuries could only stare at the object of discussion. He had lived, from the age of six, with no one able to see him, hear him, even realize he existed? And Dumbledore thought this was a _good_ thing?!

He looked back at the Headmaster and realized that, yes, yes he did.

Severus Snape made another strangled noise before clearing his throat sharply. "And you told others of his existence? Those that you trusted with the information?" He hoped that the Headmaster had at least been this intelligent.

Albus looked shocked at the suggestion. "Oh no! Of course not! We couldn't have another disaster liked what happened at Godric's Hollow, now could we? No, with someone knowing of him, he was no longer protected. So for the last twelve years I've been the only one to know where or even _who_ he was." Dumbledore, once again, looked proud.

Another strangled sound made its way out of Severus' throat. He looked back to the subject of their discussion and once again saw the dead looking eyes. He suppressed a violent shiver.

An 18 year-old had _slaughtered_ the Dark Lord and all his followers and Dumbledore thought that after making his life a living hell, that he would remain light?

Severus had always been a survivor. He had flip-flopped sides so many times because of his deeply ingrained Slytherin survival instincts.

Right at that moment, looking into those dead eyes, he made a vow to follow this young man no matter what he may do. He was exceedingly glad that he had yet to do anything that would alienate the Potter boy.

Severus saw knowledge, recognition, and then acceptance flicker through the youth's emerald green eyes, before a barely there smirk made its way onto the devastatingly hansom face.

Those green eyes turned back to the chortling Headmaster and Severus saw the old man's death in them.

Strangely, he was just fine with that.


	2. Taking Control

**A/N:** This idea is Harry-centric but it starts out elsewhere. Don't worry, that just background work.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of JK Rowling's wonderful characters. I only borrow them on occassion.

**Taking Control**

Petunia Dursley's life was full with unfulfilled wishes.

When she was young, Petunia had wished to grow up a strong, independent, beautiful woman. She had not.

When her sister had been told that she was a witch and would be going to a school where she would learn magic, Petunia had wanted to go too. She had been told she could not.

When she was finally proposed to by her sweet but average boyfriend, she discovered that her sister was to be married within a few short weeks. Her glow of excitement in telling her mother that she would be the first to be married off evaporated into nothing,

When she had married, she wished to have two children, both a boy and a girl. A girl to spoil and dote upon, and a boy to grow up to be just like his father. But just after having her precious Dudley, her husband had told her they wouldn't be having anymore. After all, they wouldn't want any attention taken away from their son.

So by the time Harry Potter was dropped off on their doorstep, Petunia Dursley had gone a bit mad; she always viewed Dudley as a perfect angel, no matter who said otherwise or what evidence was given to contradict. She refused to see that anything could possibly be wrong with her life (though truly the opposite was true).

Thus, when Petunia opened the door for fresh milk and found a baby instead, she was rightly upset.

Another thing was about to go wrong in her life.

She was, of course, correct in that first impression of the situation.

After reading the letter and having a quick discussion with her husband, Petunia Dursley's life changed once again. They couldn't – as _normal_ people – in good conscience ignore such a plea for help.

So it was very understandable that a year and a half later found Petunia sitting by herself in the kitchen while the children watched the telly, participating in her weekly ritual of crying her eyes out and bemoaning all those things that she had ever wanted yet never received.

It was just luck that little Harry, in an attempt to escape from his cousin's punching fists and pinching fingers, found himself in the kitchen and heard his Aunt lamenting over the fact that she didn't have a little girl to love and spoil.

Harry was very young – only three – so when he heard a way that might get his Aunt to possible love him, he hadn't thought about how weird it would be to be a girl, or about any of the other problems he might come across should such a thing occur. He only wished very hard.

It was a very determined little Harry Potter that was shut into the cupboard under the stairs that evening.

The next morning Harry was awoke by a screeching Petunia and was grudgingly fed. The day progressed as normal except that his Aunt had complained about his hair growing yet again and that she would have to wash it in order to cut it.

Petunia Dursley was in for the surprised of her life.

Not completely balanced in the head, when Petunia discovered that Harry had somehow become a girl and that one of her wishes had _finally_ come true, she became a bit of a fanatic.

Suddenly, Harry was even more perfect than Dudley, because Dudley, truthfully, was just a bit overweight – looking quite like a beach ball with arms and legs attached – and she wouldn't listen to anything else, even from her husband.

The second day after the discovery Vernon Dursley smacked little Harry across the head causing _her_ to fall down and break her arm.

After Petunia had gotten the arm looked at by a doctor, she had immediately gone to find a divorce solicitor.

As adamant as she was about protecting and loving her children, both the attorney and the judge believed her heart wrenching tale of being terrified for the safety of the last tie she had to her deceased sister because of a domineering iron-fisted man – really, Petunia Dursley would have been sorted into Slytherin, should she have gone to Hogwarts.

Vernon Dursley signed the papers in a daze of shock, not even noticing that his payment of support for the children came out to be roughly half his pay.

Knowing that her little girl would eventually go off to join the Wizarding world, just as Lily had, Petunia determined that she would prepare the child as best she could prior to receiving her acceptance letter. After all, she didn't want the girl to flounder as Petunia had seen her sister do for the first few years.

A trip into Diagon Alley and a chat with the Goblins of Gringotts bank later, and Petunia Dursley and her two children were living in one of the Potter ancestral homes, complete with the most extensive wards the Goblins could provide – after all, Petunia would not skimp on the protection of her children, just as she refused to get any but the best tutors she could for the young former-Harry.

The little girl formerly named Harry Potter was also given a new name – completely legal and specially processed so that any documentation written thereafter with the name Harry James Potter would immediately change to read Jamie Lily Evans Potter – though Petunia would have preferred a much more feminine name, she believed that honoring the little girls birth-parents was more important.

For once in her life, Petunia Evans was happy, she had a daughter she loved, that seemed to love her back, a son she was re-teaching to unlearn all his bad behaviors, and she had a home of her own, allowing her to spend all the time she wanted with her children.

---

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was nervous. Very nervous.

Roughly ten years prior the infamous Dark Lord Voldemort had been vanquished by a mere infant. Harry Potter had become known as the savior of the Wizarding World.

Unfortunately, on that same night, Harry's parents were killed and one Albus Dumbledore decided that he knew best, and placed the child with the only relations he had left: his mother's non-magical sister and her family.

Albus thought himself quite brilliant for that turn of events because he remembered that Lily Potter and her sister did not get along, due to the fact that Lily was magical and her sister Petunia was not. He knew that the poor boy would most likely be slightly neglected because Petunia would take her jealousy and anger for her sister out on the boy. But such was necessary. The savior of the Wizarding World could not have a large ego, after all.

No, the child would be shy and sweet and perfect for molding into exactly what Dumbledore wanted him to be.

It was all for the greater good.

But now Albus wasn't too sure of his plans. Harry's acceptance letter had been sent out with Albus fully expecting complications to ensue. Instead, a polite letter had come back stating that the Potter child would be attending.

When Albus had sent _another_ letter with his plans for one of his staff to escort Mr. Potter to get his school supplies – what better way to start the molding process than to have a person of his choosing introduce the child into the Wizarding World? – yet another reply was sent stating that there was no need, as the child had already been to purchase them.

To say that Albus Dumbledore had been shocked would be an understatement. He hadn't believed that Lily's sister would ever go near anything magical again, let alone go to an entire shopping district for Wizards and Witches.

Maybe Mr. Potter would not be exactly as he had pictured?

So it was with great trepidation that Albus Dumbledore watched the new first years file into the Great Hall.

He scanned the children all grouped together and couldn't help but feel disappointed that he did not immediately spot the child.

As the names of the new students to be sorted were called, Albus could not help but worry that maybe Potter's relatives had lied, maybe he wasn't coming.

---

Minerva McGonagall had only glanced at the incoming first years before leading them into the Great Hall, but she had hoped to see a certain raven-haired green-eyed boy. She had been disappointed.

As she called out the names of those students that needed to be sorted, she couldn't help but feeling her pulse speed as she finally reached the name she had wanted to call out first.

"Potter, H-" A strangled noise came from her throat. She cleared it sharply, looking down at the list in confusion. It was specially charmed so that she said the name that was written properly – to prevent embarrassing mispronunciations – and stopped her from making a mistake. The name written was not the name she expected. In fact, though the next name was Potter, there was not any 'Potter, Harry' listed at all.

Minerva ignored the surge of panic and read off the next name. She could discuss any problems with Albus later. For now she needed to finish the sorting.

"Potter, Jamie!"

The whispers that had broken out in the hall following her first stating of the famous surname quieted.

A girl with long wavy black hair and thin silver glasses stepped forward and fairly glided to the stool.

Minerva watched as the girl – keeping her eyes down the entire time – sat on the stool and put the hat on her head. Just before the ratty old thing completely obscured her face, the girl's eyes flashed upward to glance at the assembled hall.

Minerva felt as though she'd taken a bludger to the gut. Green – killing curse _green_ – eyes that could only belong to one child had locked with her own for a very brief moment. It was a good thing that this child's sorting took several minutes, as it was just about that long before Minerva could even think clearly.

She ignored the way the rest of the Heads of Houses and the Headmaster himself watched her. Minerva knew that she must appear gob-smacked, but even if she had tried, the Transfiguration Professor would not have been able to do anything to get her expression under control. Later, she would be thankful that she had at least been turned away from the student body when her face had fallen out of her conscious control.

Just as the staff was getting restless, the hat seemed to stir. Minerva heard it quietly mutter "Fine, if you're going to be stubborn about it…" before it announced to the entire Hall, "RAVENCLAW!"

The small girl hopped off the stool and removed the hat from her head, her expression was triumphant and her posture and demeanor much more confident than before. Minerva watched as several of her colleagues reacted to what she had seen when the girl turned her eyes to the staff table, before scurrying towards the cheering Ravenclaw table.

Several of the teachers showed their absolute shock – exposed for the entire student body to see. Filius Flitwick even toppled out of his chair - which none of those surrounding him reacted to. Severus Snape's face had gone completely blank – Minerva had always wondered if that was his default expression – and Pomona Sprout had a hand covering her mouth, her eyes wide. The best reaction, however, had to be the Headmaster's. Minerva suppressed a feral smile – Albus Dumbledore, famous seemingly unshakeable omniscient wizard, had a look of utter and complete shock on his face, his blue eyes wide and completely devoid of any twinkle, his face slack and his mouth agape.

Minerva allowed a longer than normal pause before calling the next name on the list, enjoying the snickers that were breaking out in the student body at the look on their Headmaster's face.

---

All four Heads of Houses were sitting in the Headmaster's office, three of them and the Headmaster were watching the eleven year-old girl interacting with her own Head of House.

The child seemed bright, kind and had the exact same sweet demeanor that Lily Evans Potter had come to Hogwarts with. Albus could practically see all four professors swooning, but he could not let this continue. The public expected a Gryffindor male savior; he could not allow this child to continue as she was.

He cleared his throat, just loud enough to interrupt the conversation, yet not appear rude. Filius and Jamie stopped talking, both gaining a slight blush as they realized that they'd been ignoring the others.

"Forgive me, my dear b-girl, but I seem to be confused. You were very much born a boy, so I am at a loss as to how this change has come about." Albus kept his guileless grandfather mask firmly in place. He ignored the way Minerva and Severus' eyes narrowed.

The girl-that-was-supposed-to-be-a-boy before him beamed. "When I was little I wished very hard to be a girl. I guess my accidental magic changed me and I've been this way ever since." The smile she gave the room showed just how happy about that she was and seemed to force a small smile on each of the Professor's faces – some completely against their will.

Albus shook off the warm feeling that was spreading through him. "I see…but, why would a little boy wish to become a girl?" He was careful to keep his tone innocently confused.

A small frown formed on the child's face and the others were suddenly uncomfortable. Albus had to wonder whether this was natural charisma or if the child had some latent empathic abilities to make others feel her emotions. "I wanted my Aunt to love me." The frown turned back into a smile, Jamie's eyes glittering with happiness. "And she did! After I became a girl we left my Uncle and moved into the cottage and it's been ever so much better without Vernon influencing Dudley. He was a very bad influence." The last was said in such a serious tone that the Professors all received the impression that this was what Jamie had been told, rather than what she'd assessed for herself.

"I see…" Albus trailed off, wondering whether subtlety would be the best option before deciding to throw caution to the wind. "I'm sure your Aunt would love you just as much if you were a boy. Don't you want to go back to being a boy? I'm sure we'd be able to help you."

Jamie's smile wilted and her face filled with confusion before her nose scrunched up adorably in distaste. "But I hardly remember being a boy. I _like_ being a girl." Her face was serious before a small pout formed. "I don't want to be a boy."

Suddenly, though all four Heads of Houses had agreed with Albus that something must be done to fix what could be a colossal problem, it appeared that the Professors were all giving Albus Dumbledore the evil eye for suggesting something that would upset the precious child before them.

Albus felt a thrill of alarm go up his spine as he saw the way that all of the Professors – even his _Phoenix_ – seemed to be wrapped around this little girl's finger. He needed to get control of the situation.

A look of concerned understanding was firmly in place before he spoke. "I understand that you may not like the idea _now_, but I'm sure you'll be just as happy as a boy. But whether you wish to or not, I'm afraid it's something that must be done."

Gone was the sweet smile on Jamie's face; in its place was a fierce scowl that, though adorable, intimidated even Severus. Her arms crossed and her gaze firmly fixed on the twinkling eyes before her, Jamie knew suddenly that her Aunt had been right: she would not like this man. He was trying to manipulate her. "No." Her tone was flat and the answer firm. "I do not want to be a boy. And you can't make me." Though the words were childish, there seemed to be a decisiveness behind them that made a small part of Albus nervous.

His own expression grave, Albus knew that this _needed_ to be done, the looks his staff and Phoenix – even the bloody portraits – were giving him, said as much. He needed to make them see him as being right, once again.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way, but it really must be done. You were born a boy, and though you seem to have somehow changed your name, it is imperative for your future inheritance that you are as you once were." When her expression did not change, Albus tried another tactic. "I'm sure your parents would wish you to be as you were when you were born."

The scowl left Jamie's face, but rather than being replaced by any contrition, she appeared amused. One eyebrow was raised, and though there was no smile on her lips, Jamie gave the impression of laughter. "I believe that my parents would be happy with whatever makes me happy. Beyond that, my gender and name will have no effect what-so-ever on my inheritance. It was, after all, the Goblins of Gringotts that helped my Aunt change the name and make sure that my gender change was all perfectly legal."

Albus was unable to stop the shock from flitting across his face. It was unheard of for Goblins to actively help humans. They respected money, battle worthiness, and manipulative power, and from what he knew, Petunia Evans had none of the above.

---

Severus Snape allowed a small smile to form on his lips. He had never seen anyone get such an upper hand on Albus Dumbledore, and the fact that it was an eleven year-old girl, while baffling and humorous, was absurdly satisfying.

He was, however, slightly disappointed that the obviously Slytherin girl was not in his house. He could almost see James Potter rolling in his grave.

**A/N:** I imagine that there will be more of this Jamie Potter 'verse in the future, but I just needed to get this idea out there. Hope it's been as entertaining for you as it was for me. ;)


	3. Scapegoat

**A/N:** This is another Dark Harry goes to Azkaban stories...it's pretty vague though, so you might not catch it. Heh.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of JK Rowlings characters. I only borrow them every once in a while.

**Scapegoat**

_He had shown them._

They never saw it coming. The Wizarding World looked to him for a savior, _assuming_ that he would save them. That he would see it as a duty to fulfill.

They gave him the title of savior and then questioned him when he couldn't save them all. They _blamed_ him for deaths he couldn't control. Even when he was still in school, a _child_ in their eyes, they still blamed him for their problems.

They betrayed him. Everyone, even his friends, betrayed him.

And yet.

When it got out that he really was what they had been calling him. When his friends got so worried for _themselves_ that they spoke up and told all his dearest secrets, then they let him out with a shrug of the shoulders and an 'awe shucks'.

And they still expected him to 'do his duty'.

So he did.

Harry Potter killed Lord Voldemort.

With a smile on his face.

And then he showed them true darkness. Because the difference between Tom Riddle and Harry Potter was just one word. But that word was significant. Tom Riddle was homicidally insane. Harry Potter was just homicidal.

The Wizarding World trembled.


	4. Changes

**A/N:** This is a little blibbit of what-if Harry didn't go all 'woe-is-me' in the summer after his fifth year and instead decided that he was angry and that there was no longer a surrender option in the line 'surrender or die'.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of JK Rowlings' story or characters. I only borrow them on occasion for my own amusement.

**Changes**

"Have you friends finally gotten smarter and left you, Potter?" Draco sneered as he fairly strutted into the train compartment.

He had never understood the fuss behind the teen in front of him. Sure he was reasonably attractive (those green eyes would make even the ugliest man _somewhat_ attractive, and for all Potter's faults, his physical assets were not lacking) and of course he had both fame and money, but really, he was just another sixth year student at Hogwarts.

Actually, that was wrong too. He was _grieving._

A malicious smile crossed Draco's lips.

"Or have they gone the way of you godfather? Snuffed out by their betters? Is that is? Have the Weasel and the mudblood finally…" Draco trailed off, more than just a bit intimidated by the sight before him.

Short, scrawny, Harry Potter – always smaller than Draco – and seeming so small on the train car's couch, _unfolded_.

There was no other word for it.

The small skinny male that had been his form prior to the summer was gone. In its place was a tall – well over 180 centimeters – muscular – were those seams going to rip, or would they hold? – _man_.

A man with a very dangerous expression on his face.

Draco backed up two quick steps without any conscious input from his brain. He was too afraid to even scowl when he realized what he'd done.

Potter took one step towards him, his arm extended, and suddenly he was across the compartment – were they always that _small_? – with his hand on the door.

It took all of Draco's considerable self-control to keep himself from doing something so undignified as releasing a noise very similar to that of a frightened female _eep_!

Just when he was positively sure to the very core of his being that he was going to be _crushed_ by the man that appeared to be Potter, the door was closing in his face.

Heart pounding, Draco just stared at the door for a moment. A shudder went through him. He suddenly very much did not want to be on the opposite side of the war as Potter.

In an instant he almost felt sorry for the Dark Lord, because he knew without a doubt that Potter would not just kill the monster of a man. No, he'd _slaughter_ him.


	5. Unlikely Champion

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I only borrow them on occassion of S&G's.

**Unlikely Champion**

"Albus Dumbledore."

The man in question looked up, startled. It had been quite some time since he'd heard the sorting hat speak outside of its designated time in the spotlight without being prompted.

"Yes?" He answered cautiously. He had had a stressful day, after all. What with the Potters' dying, having to place their surviving child with his muggle relatives, and having to let the world know of their savior.

"This must be one of the stupidest decisions you've made in all your life." Albus stared at the hat in both shock and confusion. "You know exactly how Lily Evans and her sister got on. Leaving the Potter boy with her is a mistake."

Albus set his jaw stubbornly. He was so sick of everyone second guessing his decision! They never used to do it before, yet now it seemed people left and right were disagreeing with him. "I'm sure Petunia will be able to see past her relationship with her sister to love the boy."

A disgusted noise came from the hat before it seemed to settle. "If you're sure…" Albus allowed himself a small smirk, despite the doubtful tone. The smirk froze on his face when the Hat spoke again, its tone cold and stony. "But mark my words Albus Dumbledore, if you're wrong, I will see to it that my very existence is aimed towards making yours a living hell."

Before Albus could question the Hat about its opinion (or even break from his shocked stupor) the Hat had settled into its normal seemingly stasis state.

Albus frowned in thought before shaking his head and deciding to just ignore the encounter.

:~:

"I really must have someone pick up young Harry for school supplies. Perhaps Hagrid would do…" Albus mused aloud to himself, frowning at the report his Deputy had sent him regarding the lack of reply from Harry Potter.

"I will go with him."

Albus startled almost violently. The Sorting Hat had spoken up at least once a year regarding the young Potter's placement, but Albus had answered the same every time. 'He was healthy and happy, and Albus would appreciate the Hat _not_ telling him how to do his job.' The Sorting Hat would then settle back into silence, so far not even making any hints toward the retribution it had promised. Albus took that as a good sign.

When he didn't answer, the Hat continued. "While Rubeus Hagrid may be kind and well meaning, he is not generally the best to explain things, should they need explaining. Besides, I wish to speak with young Mister Potter."

Albus sighed quietly to himself, knowing that should he even wish to anger the Sorting Hat by denying its request, the Hat would still somehow manage to find the boy. The Hat was, after all, connected to the magic of Hogwart's itself. Besides, the Hat was probably right in Hagrid's inability to properly explain things.

:~:

"The boy must not go back Albus Dumbledore." Albus had never heard the Hat sound angry, so he was more than a bit surprised by the fury that seemed to emanate from its voice.

Despite his surprise, Albus was still positive that any possible unpleasantness was greatly out balanced by the boy being protected from any Wizard or Witch out to harm him. "The boy is safest there. I won't remove him from that protection."

A long cold silence fell, making Albus suddenly feel very much like an eleven year-old boy again.

"Very well." The words were spoken completely free of any emotion or inflection, but Albus could not help but feel a sense of foreboding.

:~:

Albus Dumbledore had never had the urge to faint before in his very long life, but he could feel himself getting paler with each sorting. When Draco Malfoy was proclaimed to belong to Hufflepuff, Albus could feel himself actually swaying in his seat.

All the other Professors appeared shocked, but only Severus Snape seemed at all suspicious. The Potions Master kept glancing between the Headmaster and the Sorting Hat.

When the Hat announced that Harry Potter would also be in Hufflepuff Albus had to close his eyes and concentrate on his breathing.

This was a… disaster.

The Hat's promise of hell on earth suddenly seemed all too real when Albus heard Ronald Weasley being sorted into Slytherin.

At least the look on Severus' face made up for it slightly.


	6. Unfortunate Yet Lucky Accidents

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters, I simply use them on occassion for my own entertainment.

**A Series of Unfortunate Yet Lucky Accidents**

Harry smiled grimly to himself as he watched the last rays of sunlight fade from the sky.

He was tied to a grave stone, watching the murderer of his parents rise, renewed from a cauldron. A low chuckle escaped his lips.

Minutes later, Harry was crouched behind a different headstone, ignoring the Dark Lord Voldemort's cajoling. The monster/man expected him to be a true Gryffindor, expected Harry to fall for those cheap lines of dying with honor. But Harry had a much better plan.

Ever since the end of his previous school year Harry's Slytherin side that had kept him alive and relatively unharmed throughout the years had come forward with a vengeance.

The lessons on controlling his emotions that he had taken from both Severus Snape and Remus Lupin had helped his ability to create and maintain a mask over his true emotions, but he'd never been so thankful of those lessons before.

:~:

The Dark Lord Voldemort was distinctly irritated. The brat was not cooperating with his plan.

Each of his Death Eaters and he himself had heard a whimper of pain over a minute ago, but nothing since.

While Voldemort may have become more illogical over the years, stupid he was not.

"Malfoy, Nott, Avery. Bring him to me."

Before they started forward, heavy breathing and a thump was heard from behind the large grave stone Potter had dove behind.

Voldemort frowned before smirking.

Perhaps the brat had fainted?

As Voldemort lost sight of the bright blonde hair of Lucius Malfoy, a shriek of pain was heard.

Voldemort scowled, thinking he'd need to punish his followers for presuming to hurt the boy without his permission.

The Dark Lord opened his mouth, intent on making a sharp remark, but forgot everything – including the ability to close his gaping mouth – as he saw a large shape rise from behind the headstone.

Like the self-appointed Dark Lord, the Death Eaters could only stand and gape at the sight before them, unable to wrap their minds around the concept.

Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, Gryffindor Golden Boy, was a _werewolf_!?

:~:

He'd taken his potion before entering the maze.

Harry had known that the timing would be tricky and didn't want to risk not making it back before the rising of the moon. For that he was thankful.

While a bloodthirsty Werewolf would have been deadly to a number of the Death Eaters, with full cognitive and strategizing abilities available, he would be able to kill or stun all, instead of focusing on just a few.

There was a reason that even specially trained Wizards did not take on Werewolves alone.

Picking off the stunned Wizards was quite simple for the large Werewolf.

Voldemort never even saw the teeth coming.

**A/N:** In case you're wondering, during the whole Sirius escapade at the end of Harry's third year, rather than coming out completely unscathed from his encounter with the Werewolf!Lupin, Harry recieved a clawing on his arm before Padfoot came to his rescue. In the ensuing chaos he was able to hide the relatively unimportant scratches and only spoke with Remus about them later. Obviously, Dumbledore, Snape, and Remus all know, but Harry learned to keep his secrety from everyone else, including Hermione and Ron.


	7. No More Prisoners

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I only use them occassionally for my own twisted entertainment.

**No More Prisoners**

_Harry would know what to do. Maybe he'll save us? Yeah, he'd pop in out of no where, wand in hand-_

_Stop it you idiot! You're stuck. Admit it. Harry won't be saving you. He hardly even knows you. He's probably at home, in bed right now, sleeping the night away. Not a care in the world._

_Except that he's standing right in front of me._

_Wait, wha-?_

_Is that a…_sword_?_

Susan gaped.

She had hoped to be saved, yes. Expected it? Nope, not a chance.

But there he was, like an answer to her prayers. Wand in his right hand, sword in his left.

A spray of blood hit Susan in the face. She flinched away from the sensation, but her mind had yet to process the horror that someone – a Death Eater – had been decapitated less than a meter from her.

Instead she was watching Harry.

He truly had come out of nowhere, barefooted, wearing only a pair of drawer-string sleeping trousers, weapons in hands. Before any of their captor Death Eaters had even realized that he was there, Harry had severed the heads of the two standing side by side closest to him, and blasted a hole through another two's chests.

The remaining four Death Eaters leapt into action, but compared to Harry, they could have been moving through molasses.

Another Death Eater had a hole in his chest before any of them managed to aim a spell at the raven-haired teen. He easily side-stepped the red colored Cruciatus curse and lodged his sword in the throat of the Death Eater that had started to point his wand at the captives.

One of the Death Eaters fell to his knees, wand dropped, hands in the air. His effort only awarded him with the Reductor curse meant for his chest, impacting his face.

The final Death Eater was similarly dealt with.

Harry turned those Killing Curse green eyes on Susan for the first time. He appeared to take in her and Hannah's relatively unhurt forms before flicking his wand at them.

The bindings holding the girls in place were released and their own wands floated out of the nearest corpse's pockets.

When the girls' hands clasped around their wands, Harry disappeared with barely a 'pop'.

Numbly, Susan grabbed her best friend's hand and dragged the nonresponsive girl with her to the floo. A pinch of powder and two words later, the two blood covered Hogwart's students tumbled out of on of the floos in the Auror's office.

The activity seemed to freeze for a moment as those that were left in the office took in the sight of their boss' niece stumbling out of the floo with another girl in her arms, both covered in gore.

The scene leapt back into motion when a gasp came from the doorway to Madame Bones' office. A second later and the older woman had an Auror calling for a healer and the two teens were in chairs, Susan's Aunt demanding to know what had happened.

Susan raised wide eyes to lock with her Aunt's, her voice was breathy – she was in shock.

"Harry saved us." She paused, swallowing hard, oblivious to the stir she'd just caused in all the adults around her. A pink-haired Auror was listening with rapt attention now.

"Death Eaters came. I don't know how. Suddenly they were just in the house. We tried to fight, like Harry'd taught us, but there were ten of them and we had no warning." Susan's eyes were even wider, displaying the horror and confusion she'd felt in the moment. "We stunned two, but they were in the room and there was no cover. They took our wands, tied us up." She paused, swallowed hard. "They were going to take us. I knew it. Knew we were going to die. I was wishing to be saved. Thinking about Harry, and all the stories I'd heard of him saving someone. Wishing he'd save us too. Then he was there." The wonder in her eyes replaced all the other emotions. "Do you think I called him? Wished him there?" Susan shook her head without waiting for an answer, dispelling the notion. "No, no. That's silly. I don't know how he got there. Knew to be there. How he moved so fast." Susan stopped again, a deep shuttering breath from Hannah had her wrapping an arm around her friend. She wanted to stop, wanted to just fall into her mind as well, but her Aunt had always stressed the importance of knowing what had happened so they could react accordingly.

"He killed them all. Just a few spells and a few slashes from his sword – did I say he had a sword? – and they were all dead. Harry untied us, gave us back our wands, and then left. I think he disapparated, but I didn't know he could do that. I –" She broke off, a sob choking her. Shame coursed through her.

She'd thought that it had been okay that she'd been captured. That there had been too many Death Eaters and it was been normal that she and Hannah had been over powered. But then Harry came and defeated the Death Eaters easier than they had defeated her and her friend.

Susan had put up a good fight, yes. But this was a war, and she hadn't fought nearly hard enough.

The shame of feeling inadequate warred with her horror of what she'd witnessed until Susan couldn't fight the racking sobs anymore. She broke down, clinging to her fellow Hufflepuff, wanting to cling to her Auntie too, but knowing that the woman had work to do.

Amelia Bones stood, feeling grim and determined. A teenage boy had taken out eight Death Eaters on his own and her Aurors were floundering to take down the same amount while in a group of three? There was something wrong with that.

It was too much.

Someone was sabotaging them. Someone from her own department.

Was it a potion? A charm? Something that limited the Aurors' capabilities? Or were there just that many Aurors that were not loyal and were using their position in the department to make sure the missions failed.

She needed to find out.

Her department needed to be purged of the enemy, and then the kid gloves were coming off.

They couldn't hold the Death Eaters, the system was too corrupt. Any caught and processed were broken out within a week.

No more prisoners.

Amelia swallowed hard at the concept. She like justice. Liked putting away criminals the way the law demanded. But this was no longer a case of criminals needing to be punished. This was war, and her side needed to stop letting the other side walk all over them.

She swallowed hard but nodded decisively.

No more prisoners.


End file.
